Jason braves December in Minnesota!

For the second year in a row, Jason left the South to visit Minnesota in December. We question his sanity, but not his good heart. It was so great to spend time with him, and I miss him already. Next time, maybe he'll come in the summertime...

Danielle and Pat get married!

My dear friends Danielle and Pat got married in November in Huron, Ohio. For those of you who know, this means that Danielle is no longer my roommate, and is now living with her husband. Who happens to be Anne's nephew. Everyone clear?

It was a beautiful wedding, with great music and lots of dancing. Here are some shots of the evening.

Things I learned in 2010

I am too old to roller skate.

But it was still really fun!

Halloween 2009 - Charleston, SC

Our Halloween was made up of the following cast of characters:

Princess Ballerina

Red Ninja

Spiderman

Harry Potter

Math Geek

Nacho Libre Disco Frequenter

Bar Wench

Elvis (questionable)

Psycho Clown
Esmeralda the Witch

Thanks to everyone for a great Halloween!

I found it again! Yeah!

Earlier, I included a link from the Conan O'Brien show. Louis CK was talking about how "everything's amazing, but nobody's happy." It expired, which made me very sad, because I was enjoying going to watch it every few days. And it always made me laugh.

I recently found it again on youtube. I can't embed it here, but it is totally worth watching. I just love watching it! It has totally changed the way I feel about flying - an important thing, considering I fly every week.

Enjoy!

San Francisco in October

Keeping up with this blog has been a challenge of late, but I can't complain when the reason is all the fun I've been having! The big event for October was a very last minute opportunity to participate in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco!

Some of you know that Samantha and I have participated in the past, but we didn't make the lottery assignment this year. So, that was it until Samantha received an email asking if she and a friend would like to participate. As it happens, Samantha and I may be the only people we know who could pull off a last minute trip to the West Coast, so off we went!

Since I wasn't expecting to be in SF, I didn't get the chance to connect with everyone I would have liked to, but thanks to those who rearranged their schedules at the last minute to fit me in.

As for the race, it went really well, especially considering that Samantha and I did no training for it. We took the opporuntity to stop at every photo op, multiple bathroom breaks, and took samples of any food offered on the route, and STILL made great time! For pictures, see Facebook.

After the race, Samantha and I followed tradition with a massage at Kabuki and dinner at Benihani, but broke tradition with red-eye flights out to the East Coast: S to NYC and K to Detroit. Not fun. Still, I think we would both say it was worth it, and we continue to add to our collection of Tiffany's necklaces.

Anyone interested in joining us next year?

An Eventful Summer - 2009

I have been very lucky this summer. Very busy, but also very lucky. Two of my dearest friends from San Francisco came to see me this summer, and I had a great time with both of them.

Nicole and I enjoyed our first "Juicy Lucy" burgers together while she was visiting. We had such a great time, and it was so good to see her again!

Erin came to see me next, and she was willing to experience all the "special" parts of Minnesota I had to show her. In other words, Excelsior was a bit of a bust, but we had fun anyway.

Then, I got to see my friend, John, in Chicago. I met John at Trav and Trev's wedding last year, but it seems like I've known him forever. We had a great time in Chicago, and lerned a great deal about wine distributing. Fascinating topic!


In Millenium Park at the famous silver bean.

Outside Shedd Aquarium on a beautiful day in Chicago.

And a video of the aqaurium. Wait till the end for a surprise appearance.

Visiting Charleston, SC - July 2009

I got the chance to visit with Andie and Connor in SC in July. Despite some travel issues on the front end, we packed a lot of activities into a weekend, most of them with Connor as the lead attraction. But isn't that the way it should be? I mean, look at that face!


First, we introduced Connor to one of my favorite games, Connect 4. He loved it! But I think his favorite part might have been releasing the chips at the bottom.




Then, off to the beach. This meant sand and snacks. And of course, a big hole!




Andie and I went out for an adult dinner, and met up with some good friends of hers for drinks. It was great to see Todd and Debbie again, and the night views from our seats at the bar were amazing!

The Next day, we checked out the Children's Museum, and Connor had a ball.

First, he made his mother very happy, and checked out the meterology center. Looks like rain in the forecast!Then, he took his mom for a ride on a rowboat.

But rowboats are too small! Next, he tried out being a shrimp boat captain. Looks like he likes being in charge.

But it important to not speed, or you might get in trouble with the law.

Connor loved pumping water into this watering can, and then dumping the water all over his shoes. Maybe he'll be a gardener, like his Aunt Anne?

Or maybe he's just happy being our little prince.

After a fun day at the museum, and some time spent hiding in the tower of the castle, Connor was clear on what we needed to do next.

One final adventure - Connor's first movie! We went to see 'Up!' and I think it was fun for all.

Thanks, Andie and Connor, for a great visit!

A Look Back to 2008

This is a video clip from last year, but I kept it on my camera all year. I figured it was time to share with everyone else.

Seamus and Finn share their thoughts on a weekend at the Lake. To ride a boat, or to not ride a boat - that is the question. Enjoy!

Detroit, Michigan

So, I'm working in Detroit, Michigan these days. Its great work, but Detroit is a bit limited in social options. Luckily, one of the people I am working with, Mary, offered to take me out on the town. Here are some of the highlights.

Dinner in Greektown - this is the famous "burning" Opa Cheese!